Neurodivergence and Mental Health – come to our workshop at the Watercooler event next week
Our programmes director Lou Campbell is a guest speaker at the Watercooler Event next week and is talking on the topic of Supporting the Mental Health of Neurodivergent Employees on both days. Her speaking slots are on Tuesday 23rd April at 3pm and again on Wednesday 24th April at 11.45am. More information about the talk is below. If you would like to receive free entry to the Watercooler event on either date to see Lou speak, please get in touch!
Supporting the mental health of neurodivergent employees
Neurodivergence is not a mental health issue. However, neurodivergent employees can be at a much higher risk of mental health issues, particularly if employers are unaware of the factors that can cause detriment to the wellbeing of employees with autism, ADHD, dyslexia and more neurodivergent conditions. This session is presented by Lou Campbell, a fully qualified workplace mental health professional, who specialises in supporting the mental health of neurodivergent employees.
This workshop will provide:
· A range of tips for helping your neurodivergent colleagues thrive at work
· Advice on what to do if your neurodivergent colleagues are struggling with their mental wellbeing
To book your ticket visit https://www.watercoolerevent.com
Book your wellbeing workshop for mental health awareness week now
This year’s Mental Health Awareness week takes place between 13th and 19th May and the theme is Movement and Mental Health. This theme may surprise many who perhaps do not equate movement with supporting their mental wellbeing but in fact regular movement is fundamental for good mental health and is something we should all be thinking about.
Humans evolved to move, and as well as the more commonly known physical-health benefits of exercise, regular movement offers many boons for our mental health. It can help lower feelings of anxiety and depression, reduce negative moods and thinking patterns whilst boosting confidence, self-esteem and improving sleep quality.
In my work as a mental health teacher, speaker and presenter, I have become aware of the legacy of the pandemic that has left many people living increasingly sedentary lifestyles, lamenting that they move less, get outside less frequently and do not exercise as much as they used to. The pandemic forced on us lives that were home-based, screen-focused and that restricted our ability to stay active and hybrid working has cemented this lifestyle.
We all now navigate a new-normal that generally means we engage in less movement. Gone is the walking to the station of the regular commute, the nipping out to the coffee shop, the walks at lunch and going to the gym after work and these movement-based activities are not being replaced. Research shows that around 34 per cent of men and 42 per cent of women do not engage in enough activity for good mental health[i] and Public Health England have said that we are 20% less active than we were in the 1960s, a percentage they expect to rise to 35% by 2030[ii].
With the unprecedented demand on NHS mental health provision, there has never been more of an urgent need to get back to previous habits, to get up and move more to support our mental wellbeing. And remember, movement does not simply mean exercise (although regular exercise is important!), it includes all those small moments of stretching reaching, walking and dancing that are part of an active life. Here are some ways that you can begin to improve your level of movement and exercise:
Stretch More: A great way to bring more movement into your day and to reap some much needed benefits is to take a few minutes every hour to get up from your desk and stretch. This simple act gives you a break from screen time, increases serotonin levels, helping stabilise mood and reduce stress, helps break up the stress hormones stored in our muscles and relieves tension and headaches. A few minutes every hour soon builds up!
Choose to Move: I know it sounds obvious, but one way to up our movement levels in daily life is to, well, do more movement. Look for ways you could be more active where you might otherwise choose a more sedentary option. Make going for a walk part of your day, perhaps during a lunch break or other times when you might otherwise drive, such as the school run or popping to the shops. Take the stairs instead of the lift, engage in activities like gardening or doing YouTube yoga stretches and why not take 5 minutes on your own to dance to your favourite tunes, boosting movement and dopamine!
Exercise: Although regular informal movement is essential, the importance of regular exercise cannot be ignored. According to the NHS, adults should be looking to engage in 75-150 minutes of exercise a week, meaning any activity that raises your heart rate and makes you breathe faster! We all have differing levels of fitness, mobility and experience of exercise but there are activities and exercises out there to suit all needs. Start slowly and build and look to engage exercise that you can enjoy as this will help sustain you! Join a group or a club to help build momentum through shared experience. Look online for exercises that suit you and get involved. It can be tough at first but the benefits to your mental health soon become clear and you will thank yourself for having taken the first step.
Mindful Movement and Flow: Not all movement has to be about pace. Focusing on slow, deliberate movement through the practice of Mindfulness has been shown to improve attention, reduce stress, anxiety and symptoms of depression. Similar to yoga but with an emphasis on easily accessible and familiar movements, mindful movement helps us focus the mind and enter the “flow state”, reducing the mental chatter that can feed negative moods and mental health issues. Anyone can do mindful movement and its combination of unhurried moves and present moment focus is a winning combination that will help us manage and work through the stresses of the day.
Movember and Male Mental Health: Now is the time to act.
Movember is the annual reminder that men’s health – or more accurately, discussion around how men manage their health – is something that still needs prompting, especially with regards to mental health.
As we navigate an era of uncertainty, a phrase that has perhaps defines our current pressures is “the cost-of-living-crisis”. This inescapable phrase and its day-to-day reality are having a very real impact on mental health, and there is an urgent need to discuss the decisions that men are making in the face of these economic pressures.
While the cost-of-living crisis affects us all, for many men there is an added layer around perceived gender roles that is feeding heightened levels of stress, anxiety and depression. The traditional male breadwinner image, although less often spoken about explicitly, is still a potent force that shapes behaviours. For many men, accomplishment as an individual is often tied to monetary success and providing for others[i]. The cost-of-living crisis and wider economic downturn has reduced job and financial security, in turn undermining individual sense of worth and detrimentally impacted male mental health.
Men in general are less likely than women to ask for help with their mental health[ii] and this pattern is repeated in the face of financial stress and the anxieties they provoke[iii], with many men choosing instead to “tough-out” the financial challenges they are face. This is dangerous tactic as male mental health stats attest:
40% of men have never spoken to someone about their mental health[iv]
1 in 8 men suffer from depression or anxiety at any given time[v]
Compounding this are the coping strategies that can define male response to mental health issues. Men make up only 36% of those who seek professional support, choosing instead to manage alone. This is problematic and can lead to destructive habits such as alcohol and drug abuse, both of which are much higher in men than women[vii].
In addition, hybrid working has led to reduced levels of professional interaction. People who experience heightened levels of isolation and loneliness suffer higher levers of stress, anxiety and depression[viii], and this is just adding to the mental burden that many men are facing, often without the tools to cope.
It is therefore essential that we use this month to change the narrative around male mental health. Organisations have a duty of care for their workforce and the issue of supporting men in the face of mental health issues needs to be central to that. Movember is the perfect opportunity to highlight these issues and provide options to support male staff, facilitate conversations around mental health and even help manage issues before they become crises.
At Wellbeing Partners, we offer group wellbeing workshops including ‘Men’s Mental Health’, ‘Taming the Tiger: Resilience for Men’, ‘Mindfulness for Men’ and ‘From Anxious to Calm’, as well as one-to-one counselling and wellbeing sessions that can help men talk about and manage their mental health.
ANXIETY – the theme of Mental Health Awareness Week 15th to 21st May
If you’ve noticed that you’re more anxious recently, then you are not alone. The last three years have seen a global rise in anxiety and anxiety disorders, and this is hardly surprising. Our daily life has been infused with uncertainty, with the fallout of the pandemic, war in Europe, cost of living crisis and ongoing environmental issues all placing an endless strain on our resilience and resources.
For many, anxiety has begun to play a larger role in their lives. The emotional side of anxiety – feelings of fear, sadness, frustration and isolation amongst others – increasingly shape our decisions, thought processes and emotional responses. And the impact is not only personal, as it can spill over into our professional lives, affecting our ability to focus and work effectively. The added pressure of struggling to meet our professional responsibilities can feed into and exacerbate the anxiety.
It is imperative, for our own mental wellbeing and for our ability to engage professionally, to find effective ways to reduce anxiety. But this can be both daunting and challenging. When we are anxious, our response is often to engage in a struggle with it, a struggle that includes various understandable but unsatisfactory responses such as distraction, suppression and denial. This struggle can leave us feeling exhausted and even make the anxiety worse.
Although it may seem counter intuitive, to manage anxiety, we have to get to know it better, to understand what it is trying to tell us. Psychologist Prof. Mark Williams argues that we must “befriend our anxiety”, seeing it not as the enemy to defeat, but something that wants attention, to be cared for. This approach can give us back a sense of agency and control in the face of the overwhelm that anxiety brings with it.
Managing anxiety can be challenging so getting professional support is a good step. Counselling, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy are all clinically proven ways of managing and reducing anxiety. With professional support we can discover how to relate differently to the emotions, sensations and thoughts that shape and sustain our anxiety. We can learn how to ride out the waves of anxiety rather than be pulled under by them, and over time we learn to develop the resilience we need to calm down more easily from anxiety.
These three tips can help you begin your journey of facing anxiety and flourishing.
1. Talk: Anxiety can make us feel isolated, creating the sort of social and behavioural retreat that deepens the experience of anxiety. Communicating about how you are feeling, particularly the emotions that are triggering the anxiety such as fear, anger, frustration, shame, guilt, confusion etc, can often help us to “contain” the anxiety more easily. If you have a friend or loved one who is a good listener, they could be a helpful person to talk to. Professional support is also really helpful – Try your organisation’s counselling support service.
2. Thoughts are not facts: Anxiety is often fuelled by negative thoughts like “catastrophising” or abusive self-talk – thoughts that can keep us locked into mental scenarios that serve only to make us feel worse. If we can take a mental step back and see our thoughts as just opinions rather than facts, it can help us be less caught up in the thought processes that sustain our anxiety. A professional can help you to understand how your thoughts might be triggering your anxiety, and teach you to relate to your thoughts in a less alarming way.
3. The breath is your ally: When anxiety strikes, we can feel overwhelmed. A simple tip to slow the “stress response” is to consciously focus full attention on the breath. Concentrate your breath on the area of your body where you feel the anxiety most intensely (eg chest, belly, shoulders) and for a few moments, purposely slow and deepen both the in breath and the out breath. Doing so stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system, sending a “stand-down” signal to the alert centre of the brain!
Anxiety workshops, courses and sessions for your employees:
From Anxious to Calmworkshop – 60 minute group workshop
Mindfulness for Anxietyworkshop – 60 minute group workshop
Facing Anxiety and Flourishingcourse – 4 x 60 minute group course
Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapycourse – 8 x 60 minute group course
Confidential One to One Counselling – Anxiety counselling with our specialist mental health therapists
Book us to run an anxiety workshop, course or session
If you’d like to book us to run a workshop, course or session please enter your details below or contact us for more information.
Dramatic Increase in Men Accessing Counselling Services: Workplace figures particularly promising.
November’s awareness day place particular influence on male mental health
Encouraging figures see dramatic upswing in men accessing counselling services
Particularly important at a time when nearly 10 million people in the UK require mental health support
Men still more likely than women to die from suicide and resort to damaging coping mechanisms for mental health issues
Dedicated workplace counselling increases chances of men engaging with support offered
During November, Movember and International Men’s Day help raise awareness of the important topic of male mental health, with an emphasis on getting more men to access mental health support.
And latest figures suggest that there is reason for optimism. Whereas the narrative around male mental health is traditionally driven by themes of avoidance and denial, we have seen a dramatic increase in the numbers of men accessing counselling, and this could not have come at a more important time.
The Quality Care Commission highlights that up to 10 million people in the UK require mental health support[i]. There are currently 1.2 million people are on waiting lists for NHS support[ii] and it is struggling to cope. For male mental health these stats are particularly problematic. Men still make up ¾ of suicide deaths in the UK[iii], are more likely to abuse alcohol and recreational drugs as coping mechanisms[iv] and are more likely to go missing.
Therefore the provision of expert counselling is essential, particularly in the workplace where the demands and stresses can add to, trigger or exacerbate mental health issues.
And there is evidence that men feel more comfortable opening up in a mental health setting. The BACP reports that the number of men accessing counselling has risen from 18% to 27% in a decade[v]. At Wellbeing Partners, we have found an even greater upswing in male counselling participation, with 45% of our workplace counselling sessions now being accessed by men.
For businesses to ensure that their male employees access the mental health support services being offered, they should ask themselves two questions.
Firstly, how easy is it for staff to access these services? It is more likely that people will take up these provisions if it is a straightforward process, ideally a one-step procedure that makes it simple to book a session with a counsellor.
Secondly, does our process focus on encouraging employees to discuss challenge and difficulties rather than just crises? Ideally the counselling support on offer will be focused on a wider sense of mental wellbeing, allowing for the processing of challenges and difficulties in a timely manner so they do not develop into more serious issues.
Lou Campbell, counsellor and programmes director of Wellbeing Partners explains:
“The emphasis is proactive wellness, processing difficulties before they become a crisis and normalising this as part of the workplace culture. This emphasis helps people engage earlier and helps remove the perceived stigma amongst some men about accessing mental health support”.
Managers too have an important role to play in ensuring this support is seen as part of a healthy working culture and taken up by employees. Encouragement is invaluable for staff who might be unsure around asking for mental health support.
Campbell adds:
“An essential component of mental health training in the workplace is focusing on training managers to be able to notice signs of employees needing support and having the skills necessary to signpost them onward to that support”.
Our actions, as managers, HR staff and colleagues, can help sustain this impressive upturn in men accessing mental health support. If you would like more information on male mental health and how counselling can support your employees, please contact
November is here already – it seems to have snuck up on us! As evenings draw in and temperatures drop, we can be forgiven for lamenting the loss of the sunny days and long evenings of summer. Indeed, many people experience a downturn in mood as the seasons change, with people feeling increasingly isolated, fed up, lethargic and as many as 2 million experiencing seasonal affective disorder (SAD).
Perhaps reflecting this, November is replete with mental and physical health awareness days and there is a particular slant towards raising awareness of male mental health issues as we head into winter.
At Wellbeing Partners, we are committed to offering solutions to these issues, through workshops, courses, counselling and expert advice and we are excited about the opportunities to do this throughout November.
MOVEMBER 1st – 30th November: Using humour to confront serious issues is a brilliant way to engage people whilst raising awareness. Movemeber creates a humorous shared experience whilst bringing male mental health into daily conversation. Globally, 60 men take their own lives every hour and 1 in 8 men have a mental health issue, but men are still statistically unlikely to seek help. Wellbeing Partners offers a broad range of sessions to support men’s health including ‘Men’s Health’, ‘Men’s Mental Health’, ‘Mindfulness for Men’ as well as expert counselling and one-to-one sessions.
International Stress Awareness Week 7th – 11th November: If left unchecked, heightened stress can trigger serious health issues, both mentally and physically, as well as affecting our performance and attendance in the workplace. International Stress Awareness week is an opportunity to reflect on stress levels and cultivate strategies to help us reduce them. Stress management is a speciality of Wellbeing Partners and we have a variety of options available. As well as our expert-led counselling sessions, we offer interactive workshops including ‘Managing Stress and Enhancing Resilience’, ‘Recover from Burnout’, ‘From Anxious to Calm’, ‘Facing Anxiety and Flourishing’, ‘Wellbeing in Hybrid Working, and ‘Back on Track: Cultivating a Positive Mindset’.
World Kindness Day 13th November: This annual awareness day is an opportunity for individuals, groups and organisations to consider our sense of shared humanity and to promote courses, workshops, behaviours and initiatives that spread kindness and connectivity. After two gruelling years of a pandemic and continued financial and global uncertainty, this is a perfect time to engage in behaviours that enhance kindness, boost mood and reduce stress. Wellbeing Partners present such opportunities through the sessions ‘Kindness and Compassion’ and ‘Improving Connection and Belonging’.
World Diabetes Day 14th November: November is not just about mental health, but also raising awareness of physical health issues like diabetes. Globally, someone is diagnosed with type-2 diabetes every two-minutes and awareness of diet and lifestyle choices that affect the illness can help us avoid serious health issues later in life. Our expert nutritionists deliver engaging sessions that can help with this including ‘Reducing Sugar in your Diet’, ‘Ten Tips for Healthy Eating’ and ‘The Ultimate Detox’.
International Men’s Day 19th November: This annual awareness day is an opportunity to reflect on positive male role models and achievement whilst also addressing serious issues around male mental health. The year’s theme is ‘Better Relations between Men and Women’ and addressing mental health issues is an essential part of this as it gives men the skills required for emotional honesty and emotional intelligence, the bedrock of healthy relationships. We can help men explore their mental health issues through expert counselling and curated sessions on ‘Men’s Health’, ‘Men’s Mental Health’ as well as ‘Mindfulness for Men’.
If you would like more information on any of these sessions, please get in touch or enter your details below.
Getting Started
Enter your details below or call us on 020 3951 7685 to get started
Men’s Health Week presents a terrific opportunity for employers to bring awareness to health issues that affect men disproportionately, and to encourage male employees to think more about their health and wellbeing.
Wellbeing Partners’ selection of relevant workshops include:
Men’s Health – presented by our award-winning men’s health educator and campaigner Peter Baker, this 60-minute live and interactive session encourages men to engage in discussion and learn about different aspects of physical and mental health that are most likely to impact men such as heart disease, prostate and other cancers, high blood pressure, erectile dysfunction and other sexual health issues, diabetes, weight, alcohol and substance misuse, depression and more. The session promotes the benefits of a healthy lifestyle, providing simple, straightforward advice, and encourages men to think more about their wellbeing and access health services when required. (In-person or online)
Men’s Mental Health – presented by one our fully qualified counselling psychotherapists and men’s mental health specialists, this 60-minute live and interactive session focuses on removing stigma and shame around men discussing and seeking help for mental health issues, provides effective tips and techniques for how men can improve their mental health and wellbeing, and signposts men to the variety of support services they can access if required (including promoting services such as an EAP).
Mindfulness for Men – presented by our James Milford, our head of behavioural sciences and a fully qualified mindfulness-based cognitive therapist, this 60-minute live and interactive session offers your male employees an ideal opportunity to learn about the science behind mindfulness and to try a range of meditations as a highly effective form of DIY mental healthcare. Using evidence-based and scientifically proven mindfulness and meditation techniques to reduce stress and anxiety, overcome unhelpful thinking patterns, improve sleep and benefit overall health. (In-person or online)
One to One Wellbeing Sessions – our team of fully qualified wellbeing coaches include five male therapists, who we can make available to your employees during Men’s Health Week, or at any time of the year! These sessions offer tailored, confidential mental health and wellbeing support directly to your employees, including those who might be otherwise reluctant to access mental health support, based on their individual requirements. (In-person or online)
Employee Health Screening – Know Your Numbers – our team of registered occupational health nurses come to your workplace to provide employees with individual health checks onsite. Tests include cholesterol and blood sugar levels, blood pressure, waist:hip ratio & BMI; cardiovascular, discussion around alcohol consumption, exercise, smoking and diet, plus overall health. Each employee receives their personalised results in a graphical and easy to understand report, with signposting to specific health services where relevant. We also provide your organisation with an anonymous overview of the health of your employees, and a comparison with national average. (In-person)
Did you know?
Diabetes Week runs from the 8th to the 13th of June. Our fully qualified nutritional therapists present a range of relevant workshops such as ‘Sugar Awareness: Reducing Sugar from your Diet’ and ‘Nutrition and Healthy Eating’.
Healthy Eating Week runs from the 14th to the 20th of June and focuses on helping us be more aware of what foods we need to increase and avoid to balance our diet and eat more healthily. Our workshops include “Top 10 Tips for Healthy Eating’; ‘All about Breakfast’; as well as Cooking Demonstrations and ‘One-to-One Nutrition Sessions.
World Yoga Day is on the 21st of June, a day for fun and learning about all the different types of Yoga and its benefits. We offer 45 minute sessions in-person or online with our fully qualified yoga teachers. All welcome from beginners to intermediate level. Yoga mats are provided for in-house sessions.
Getting Started
Enter your details below or call us on 020 3951 7685 to get started
Men’s Mental Health – an interview with Everton premier league footballer and England Under 21’s star Tom Davies
Today is International Men’s Day and we would like to use this opportunity to highlight the crisis in men’s mental health. Too many men are suffering in silence when it comes to anxiety, depression, trauma, intrusive thoughts, addiction, self harm, eating disorders, loneliness and more.
Please take 10 minutes to watch the short interview between Everton FC’s Tom Davies and Wellbeing Partners’ Lou Campbell below and pleaseshare with the men and boys in your life – we all have mental health and sometimes we need help looking after it …
The New Normal offers us many challenges. The reality is that we are still living and working in an ongoing global pandemic.
With lockdown gradually lifting and organisations starting to plan a return to the workplace, a huge number of employees are anxious and uncertain about how to navigate the new normal. According to research:
65% of people are anxious about returning to the workplace
70% of people are anxious about using public transport
A very large number of people across the country are also concerned about returning to a frantic pace of life, are anxious about socialising after a long period of isolation, and many are worried about potential changes in social etiquette.
The good news is that there are many steps we can take to meet the varied challenges and flourish, both professionally and personally. Our behavioural science team have created a one hour interactive workshop for employees called Navigating the New Normal:
Understanding the New Normal
Managing the Stress Response
How to Cope with:
Transport
Office / Workplace
Socialising
Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction
Techniques for reducing anxiety: Labelling and Grounding
Professional support
Self Care Action Plan
Communication Tips
For more information and to book the workshop for your employees, contact [email protected]
Our programmes director Lou Campbell is a guest speaker at the Watercooler Event next week and is talking on the topic of Supporting the Mental Health of Neurodivergent Employees on both days. Her speaking slots are on Tuesday 23rd April at 3pm...
This year’s Mental Health Awareness week takes place between 13th and 19th May and the theme is Movement and Mental Health. This theme may surprise many who perhaps do not equate movement with supporting their...
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